Your response about how compression can induce centering of the sound image is super helpful. I had no idea and admittedly compression is something rather mysterious to me. I think something similar may be going on with Booker Ervin’s Space Book. I have a green label with van gelder stamp issue, where Booker comes in left-center. On my CD of that, he’s hard left, so I guess no compression there. Full disclosure, I listen to my vinyl with headphones, so this is why I’m sensitive to the hard panning. I aim to at some point set up speakers and then maybe I can enjoy the hard panning like you!

yeah, “I’m just happy as hell to have almost any original pressing to listen to” about sums it up for me, too. 🙂

those are my spines! haha. i am almost done now, and will be updating LJC shortly. only two more orange spines to go, and 18 records from impulse total.

i wrote a response blurb detailing all things spine-color-related in the comments.

If Coltrane stood off to the left side(on ALS) he would be able to see the rest of the band and they would be able to see his direction and what he was playing. 

Didn’t the ability to deliberately re-position elements come with multi-track recording? And then furthered by digital mastering techniques. This might account for the differences later on. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that applying compression can narrow the soundstage which would cause Coltrane to slide toward center.

Everyone has different preferences, but I find it interesting how many seem to dislike the panning of the horns. I have a fairly detailed system and prefer good stereo when I can get it. Almost all the van gelder stereos I have heard are fantastic and the Stereo Records Contemporary are some of the best sounding albums in my collection! Riverside in stereo is very hit or miss however, many titles are “bad stereo” where every instrument is in one ear or the other and there is nothing in the middle. When there is nice left to right balance across the soundstage, it’s easier to pick out individual instruments and is more convincing of a live experience to my ears. However I understand that mono takes all of those variables out of the equation and puts everything front and center. As I mentioned before, I’m not picky–I’m just happy as hell to have almost any original pressing to listen to.

Regarding the spine on Impressions, it is the standard orange but it sounds like your copy has faded from UV exposure. For more Impulse minutia: https://londonjazzcollector.wordpress.com/record-labels-guide/7-impulse/spine-tingling-the-impulse-spine/

I’m not surprised that with digital you can combine left/right in any old way. But for analog mastering, I actually didn’t know that you can dial in a certain amount of left/right mixing. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can chime in here. From what I’ve read in general it seems that there’s a pretty strong consensus that most of us don’t like horns coming in 100% in one ear. I have plenty of LPs and CDs that fall in this category and wonder why the mastering engineers don’t center some of those horns more….especially when there’s only one horn.

I personally still find any placement of horns outside of dead center to be annoying, but that’s probably just me.

also of note, the -A actually denotes a second pressing. without -A is a first, for mono at least. LJC may have first stereo with -A. I’m not sure.

And regarding ALS’ black and white spine: that’s what I thought for a long time too, but I recently picked up a copy of Trane’s Impressions which was released before ALS and it has a black and white spine as well.